Nick and Aron’s opens in Temescal

Temescal’s latest new eatery has arrived with the soft debut of Nick and Aron’s over the weekend.

From Nick Yapor-Cox and Aron Ford, bakers and pastry chefs by trade who opened Nick’s Pizza up the street on Shattuck Ave. in 2013,their new project takes over the former Barkada and Remedy space at 4316 Telegraph Avenue.

Nick and Aron’s is larger and more ambitious than their pizzeria. The lunch and dinner menus will still be anchored by “Oakland-style” pizza, made with organic sourdough crust (Yapor-Cox’s domain), seasonal and local toppings, and in a slightly heavier, saucier East Coast style. Special pies include a taste flambé with goat cheese, bacon, and caramelized onion, and sausage and kale with chili flakes and fresh mozzarella.

The new restaurant, however, will be open all day, starting with a morning selection of housemade pastries and breads, a growing program overseen by Ford, and espresso and coffee from Emeryville’s Scarlet City Coffee. Lunch and dinner options, meanwhile, expand beyond pizza. The lunch menu has salads with sandwiches to come soon, while dinner (sit-down service) features starters such as lamb meatballs in harissa sauce and roasted bone marrow with parsley salad and sourdough toast. Entrees, cooked in the two large gas-deck ovens inherited from Barkada, include Manila clams with garlic, herbs, and white wine and roast chicken with Herbes de Provence made to order, along with sides like roast stuffing, rainbow chard, and root veggies. Chocolate mousse and strawberry shortcake make the opening dessert menu.

One feature the two worked hard to maintain from Nick’s is the restaurant’s accessibility and approachability.

“We really take pride at Nick’s in welcoming a diverse range of people at different price points,” says Ford, the new restaurant’s general manager. “At a lot of the nice pizza places you have to sit down and order a lot of food. But we have slices, so you can come in and just spend a few dollars if you want and still get some good food.”

Morning pastries at Nick and Aron’s

The restaurant is open daily, 7 a.m.– 10 p.m. Mon.–Fri., and 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekends. Brunch service will be phased in, likely by early summer, and they’re waiting for their beer and wine license.

Nick and Aron’s is the latest in Temescal’s quickly changing dining landscape. Recent openings include Iron Pan, Chef Yu’s, and Aunt Mary’s (in its new location), while Rosamunde Sausage Grill and Grange Hall are expected to come online by this summer. A new brewery, New Normal, is also set to open by the end of the year.